Daring Bakers June Challenge – Danish Braid

This months challenge was chosen by Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cooking? I was excited to see they chose “Danish Braid” from Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking, as Danish pastry is something I have always wanted to try making but never got round to. The unusual thing about Danish pastry compared to other types of pastry is that it involves yeast, which gives the pastries their lovely taste and texture.

The pastry recipe we were given makes quite a large amount and we were instructed to use half of it to make a large Danish Braid and the other half we were allowed to use as we wished. I decided to make lots of little individual pastries.

The pastry was slightly sticky but quite easy to work with. It involves rolling out and layering with lots of slivers of butter before folding up, rolling together and repeating a number of times to produce lots of thin buttery layers similar to those of puff pastry. The original recipe used orange zest and cardamom as flavourings but I substituted these for lemon and mixed spice which I feel go with a wider assortment of fillings. The dough smelt amazing while I was working with it, similar to hot cross buns.
For the braid I chose to use a stewed apple filling with a generous dusting of ground cinnamon underneath which in my opinion are a match made in heaven! I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to produce the braided effect, the yeast in the pastry made it quite elastic which prevented it from tearing which was a great help.

Once baked it was golden brown in colour with a crisp, slightly flakey pastry and a sweet apple filling. I had a big slice with custard for dessert that evening and it was delicious. The following day the pastry had softened slightly, but I found warming it in the oven helped crisp it up again.

Danish Pastry

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

For the pastry (Detrempe)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
110ml whole milk

70g caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

3/4 teaspoon mixed spice

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped

2 large eggs

55ml fresh lemon juice

375g plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)

200g cold unsalted butter

30g plain flour

Pastry

Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, lemon zest, mixed spice, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and lemon juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer
Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, lemon zest, mixed sppice, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and lemon juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

Butter Block

1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.

2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight.

The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Apple Filling

Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients

2 cooking apples, peeled and chopped
Juice of ½ lemon
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp water

1. Peel and finely dice the apples. Squeeze the juice form ½ lemon and add to a pan along with the water and sugar.
2. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow to cook until the apple has gone completely soft and all liquid has evaporated.

Danish Braid

Makes enough for 2 large braids or 1 braid and lots of individual pastries.
1 recipe Danish Dough

Apple filling, jam, or preserves
Cinnamon

For the egg wash
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.

2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.

3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash

Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking

1. Spray cooking oil onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.

2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F/200C. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F/180C, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

With the remaining pastry I decided to experiment with lots of different individually shaped pastries.
The Claw
This is a very simply pastry to make. You have to roll out a small square or circle of pastry and then spread you filling of choice (I used jam) over one half. Then fold the over half over the top, sealing the filling inside. Then make cuts about an inch apart, half way up the height of the pastry. Gently push the pastry in an arc, as if you are trying to make it into a smiley face, to separate the cuts. Brush with egg wash and bake as normal.

The Kite
Cut out a square of pastry and then cut a thin line, 1cm in from the edge, to make a right angle shape, making sure to leave to opposite points still joined. (see photo). Brush the edges with egg wash. Pick up the top left ‘A’ strip and fold it down onto the bottom right hand corner. Then fold the bottom ‘B’ strip up to the top left hand corner. You should now have a box shape with a border with a little twist as opposite ends. Fill the ‘box’ with your filling of choice and bake as normal. I used custard and fresh cherries.

The Crescent
Cut a circle from the pastry and cut in half to produce 4 triangles. Take 1 triangle, spread the surface with jam and arrange a line of filling along the wider. Take the rim of the wider edge, pull it up and over the filling and then roll up towards the point. Bend the pastry slightly to form a crescent, brush with egg wash and bake. I used raspberry jam on the base and then a mix of ground almonds and desiccated coconut as the filling. This was a wonderful combination and made them taste like a Bakewell tart.

The Pinweel
Cut out a circle of pastry and then place your filling in the very centre of the dough. Make 4 cuts in the dough, from the edge right up to the filling to produce 4 triangle-ish shapes. Take the edge point of each triangle and fold it into the centre, over the filling to form a sort of windmill shape. Brush with egg wash and bake. I used a dollop of nutella as my filling.

Twists
Roll out a large square of pastry. Cut the square in half to produce 2 rectangles. Brush one rectangle with a little syrup or jam and then scatter over some chopped fruits or nuts. Lay the remaining pastry rectangle over the top like a sandwich and gently press down. Cut the ‘sandwich’ in half to produce two thinner strips. Take each end of the strips and gently twist. Bake as normal. I used maple syrup for the base and scattered over finely chopped pecans which went very well together.

You could use almost any filling you like for Danish Pastries as long as you think about how it will react over baking. For example, there’s no point trying to use custard in the twists as it will just ooze out but using it with the kite shape where there are edges to keep it in place is fine. The best thing to do is experiment and you can always eat the evidence of any less successful ones!

Daring Bakers May Challenge – A Cake to Sing About: Light & White Opera Cake

When I saw this months challenge I was thrilled as it’s a cake I have heard lots about but never attempted to make myself. As I read through the recipe and its many stages and components – sponge, syrup, buttercream, ganache, glaze – I began thinking “Ekk this looks complicated.” However, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. If you can make a whisked sponge and a buttercream then you can make this cake. You do need a free afternoon to create it, but it’s a very pleasant way to spend a few hours, especially when it’s blowing a gale outside and you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful cake that will get ‘ohhs’ and ‘ahhs’ from your friends and family.

Traditionally an Opera Cake is dark and flavoured with rich chocolate and coffee but in honour of the approach of summer and with a nod to the LiveSTRONG day in America (fighting Cancer) our Opera Cakes were to be light in colour and flavour. I was initially a little disappointed at not making a traditional Opera cake, but the more I thought about it, the more excited I became – there are SO MANY flavour variations you can make when not tied down to coffee or chocolate. In the end I decided to make an almond joconde sponge, a zingy lemon syrup and a floral lavender buttercream.

I halved the recipe and made a rectangle cake rather than a square, but I still had the three layers. I also bypassed the optional ganache stage and replaced this with a layer of marzipan to tie in with the almond joconde. I also tinted the buttercream a pale lilac colour to resemble the lavender. I kept the white chocolate glaze and wrote ‘Opera’ on top with a little glaze that I tinted purple. That thistle looking thing at the end was meant to be a stalk of lavender, just squint a bit.
I was delighted with how the cake turned out. The sponge was so soft and floatingly light, very reminiscing of an angle cake, look at all those little air bubbles! It had a wonderful almond flavour, that really worked well with the zesty lemon syrup. I have just realised that I forgot to add the melted butter to the batter, but it doesn’t miss it. The lavender buttercream was really good and added a wonderful subtle floral bloom in the mouth. I have never used lavender in baking before, but I’ll definitely be using it again.

Thanks girls (Lis, Ivonne, Shea & Fran) for choosing such a wonderful cake – I would never have attempted it without the push. Be sure to check out the other Daring Bakers creations.

Lemon Lavender & Almond Opera Cake
For the joconde
6 egg whites
30g caster sugar
225g ground almonds
150g icing sugar
6 whole eggs
70g plain flour
45g butter
1½tsp almond extract (my addition)

Preheat the oven to 220C and position the oven racks in the top third and bottom third of the oven. Line two 12½ x 15½ inch Swiss roll tins and grease with the butter.
In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they are doubles in size and foamy. Add the caster sugar, a tablespoon at a time, while whisking until the egg whites have become thick and glossy. Set to one side.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, icing sugar and ground almonds until thick and creamy, about 3 minutes. (I also added almond extract at this point)
Sift over the flour and mix in gently. Do not overwork.
Take a third of the egg white mix and fold into the almond mix to slacken it. Then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites, being careful not to knock out too much of the air.
Melt the butter and fold into the batter.
Divide the mix evenly between the two tins and spread out into an even layer.
Bake for 5-9 minutes until lightly golden brown and springy to the touch.
After removing from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the pans, cover the tops with a sheet of greaseproof paper and turn out onto a wire wrack.
Peel away the base of greaseproof paper, but then leave it covering the cake and allow to cool.

For the syrup
125g water
65g caster sugar
2 tbsp of your choice (I used zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon)

Add all the ingredients together in a pan, stir and bring to the boil.
Allow to bubble for 1 minute until the sugar is all dissolved and then remove form the heat and set aside to cool

For the buttercream
100g caster sugar
60g water
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
200g butter, softened
1 vanilla bean or flavouring of your choice (I used 3 dried lavender stalks)

Combine the sugar, water and flavouring of choice in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Allow to cook, without stirring, until the syrup has thickened and reached around 105-110C.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg and egg yolk in a clean bowl until they become thick, pale and doubled in volume.
Slowly drizzle the hot syrup down the side of the bowl, containing the eggs, beating continuously. Do not pour the syrup over the beaters, or you’ll end up with spun sugar.
Continue to beat the mix until it become glossy, thick and cool to the touch, around 5 minutes.
Gradually beat in the softened butter in small chunks until all combined.
Add any other flavouring e.g. vanilla extract, and beat again. (I tinted mine a lavender purple colour)
Place the buttercream in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up to a spread-able consistency, stirring every 5 minutes so as to set evenly.

For the white chocolate ganache top (Optional)
(I replaced this layer with a layer of marzipan)
200g white chocolate
240ml double cream
1 tbsp flavouring of your choice

Melt the chocolate and 3tbsp of the cream in a small saucepan until smooth. Stir in your flavouring of choice.
Beat the rest of the cream until softly whipped. Fold into the melted chocolate and allow to sit and firm up before using.

For the glaze – only make this when you are ready to use it immediately
110g white chocolate
120ml double cream

Melt the chocolate cream together until smooth.
Whisk gently and allow to cool for 10 minutes until started to thicken and use immediately while still warm and shiny.

To assemble the cake
Trim the sides away from the joconde sponges. Cut each sponge into one square and one rectangle (one 10inch square and one 10x5 inch rectangle). You will end up with two large squares and two rectangles that when joined together will make a third 10inch square.
Place one of the cake square on a serving plate and drizzle over a third of the syrup.
Spread on a third of the buttercream and top with the two rectangles, to form another square.
Add another third of the syrup and butter cream and top with the final cake square.
Spoon on the rest of the syrup and spread over the rest of the buttercream.
Chill in the fridge until firm.
Then spread the top layer with the ganache (I used a thin layer of marzipan instead)
Make your glaze and pour over the top of the cake, smoothing it to the edges of the cake and leaving to set in a shiny layer.
Do not touch the glaze once it starts to set or else it will loose its shine.
Store in the fridge until required.
Serves 20

Cherry & White Chocolate Cookies

After a request from someone at work for a Monday Munchers treat involving cherries and white chocolate I came up with these cookies. Not very adventurous I’ll admit, but delicious none the same. They had a crisp outer edge with a bendy/chewy centre which was a nice change from the soft cakey cookies I made them last time.

I based the cookies on a recipe from the King Arthur Flour Company, only I halved the recipe and altered a few of the ingredients. I baked the cookies in two batches and the first batch spread far too much and they ended up joined together like some sort of crazy paving, I think it was because I tinkered with the recipe, but I added more flour and the second batch turned out much better. The recipe below includes the added flour.

I used dried Bing cherries which are un-dyed and quite tart, but this went well with the chunks of sweet white chocolate.

Cherry & White Chocolate Cookies
(Recipe adapted from the King Arthur Flour Company)
Ingredients
115g butter
100g light soft brown sugar
75g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ beaten egg
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
175g plain flour
75g white chocolate
75g dried cherries

Method
Heat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Cream together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla and beaten egg.
Sift over the flour and bicarb and beat until well incorporated.
Chop the chocolate into small chunks and fold into the batter along with the dried cherries.
Place tablespoons of the cookie dough onto the baking tray, leaving a 2inch gap between each one. Slightly flatten the dough into a rough round.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden around the edges.
Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely.
Makes 18 cookies

Waiter There’s Something in My….. Breakfast!

WTSIM is a monthly event hosted alternately by Jeanne of Cook Sister, Andrew of Spittoon Extra and Johanna of The Passionate Cook. This month Johanna chose Breakfast as the theme and my entry is Crisp Cinnamon Granola.

Granola with a generous dollop of yoghurt has to be my favourite thing to have for breakfast. I just love how it’s crispy yet chewy. Fruity, nutty and oaty. Slightly sweet, lightly spiced and wholesome. I love to eat it in my pajamas curled up in bed on a lazy weekend. It must also be served in a mug (much easy to hold in bed) and eaten with a teaspoon to make it last (I hate eating anything using big spoons).

For this batch I used a base of jumbo oats, porridge oats, wheat flakes and …cornflakes. I added a mix of seeds, brazil nuts and hazelnuts along with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and vanilla. After toasting goji berries, dried blueberries and the must have classic of dried banana chips were stirred through to complete my granola.

I ate some whilst still warm form the oven and was intrigued to find that the cornflakes had become a little chewy rather than going crisp. However I think this is actually preferable as it adds another interesting texture and they ended up tasting remarkably like crunchy nut cornflakes after being baked in the syrup coating.

I added quite a bit of cinnamon to the mix, but there is just something about warm toasted nuts and oats and ground cinnamon that I adore. The aroma and flavour is (in my opinion) a match made in heaven.

Crisp Cinnamon Granola Ingredients
100g jumbo rolled oats

50g porridge oats

100g wheat flakes
100g cornflakes

25g linseeds

30g pumpkin seeds

35g brazil nuts

30g hazelnuts

2½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp natural oil

3 tbsp honey or 2tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp hot water

30g dried blueberries

30g goji berries

30g dried banana chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl weigh out the oats, wheat flakes, cornflakes and seeds.

Chop the brazil nuts into quarters and the hazelnuts in half and add to the oats along with the cinnamon.

Thin down the golden syrup in the water, stir in the oil and vanilla and then drizzle it over the oaty mixture.
Mix well, ensuring everything is lightly coated.

Scatter the mix onto the baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes until it’s starting to smell toasted.

Remove from the oven and give everything a good stir to ensure even toasting.

Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes more.

Remove from the oven. Crush the banana chips into large chunks and stir through the warm oaty mixture along with the blueberries and goji berries.
Leave to cool before storing in an airtight container.Eat in bed from a mug using a teaspoon – go on try it!

Click here for more info on WTSIM

Gingerbread & Date Cake

I started out planning to bake a date and ginger cake, but as always, I tweaked with the recipe and this cake was the result. The cake itself requires very little added fat as the main binding ingredient is a boiled date mixture. This not only adds a great flavour but also provides a wonderful stickiness which goes hand in hand with the ginger. By substituting wholemeal self raising flour for the white flour stated in the recipe and adding oats in place of breadcrumbs give it a lovely wholesome and slightly toasted/nutty flavour. I also included a little crystallized ginger for extra spice.

I had a little slice of it warm with custard when it was straight out the oven after lunch and it was gorgeous, warming, spicy and fruity. I had a little bit later on that night and was a bit disappointed that it seemed a little dry. I wrapped it up and left it until the following evening when I was overjoyed to discover it had developed a sticky surface and become quite moist and slightly dense but without being heavy. So it seems as though it ages like a traditional gingerbread, getting better with age. If you don’t want to eat it straight away as a hot pudding I would strongly recommend keeping it for 1-2 days before eating.

I consider this cake to be relatively healthy, quite low in fat and full of fibre from the wholemeal flour, oats and dates. You could almost justify it for breakfast.

Gingerbread & Date Cake
Ingredient
45g butter
120g caster sugar
180g wholemeal self raising flour
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
2tsp ground ginger
15g crystallized ginger
225ml water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
125g dates (stone removed)
50g raisins
60g rolled oats

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease a deep 8inch/20cm round tin and set to one side.
Chop the dates into small pieces and add to a small saucepan along with the water.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and then add the bicarbonate of soda. Stir while the mixture bubbles and froths up.
Allow to cook for 3 minutes until the dates have turned mushy and then remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg and beat again.
Add the flour, baking powder, and ground ginger into the bowl. Pour the date mix, water and all, over the top and stir until all combined.
Chop the crystallized ginger into small pieces and stir though the batter along with the raisins and oats.
Spread into the greased tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and springy when pressed.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and cooling completely.
When cool, wrap in cling film and leave for 24hours – 2 days before eating for best results. (Although can be eaten straight away, when warm and served with custard).

Honey & Orange Creams

For the Monday Munchers this week I really wanted to give them something a bit different that I hadn’t made before. I was flicking through one of my favourite cook books for inspiration when I suddenly found the perfect thing – sandwich cookies! And not only were they sandwich cookies, they were honey and orange sandwich cookies topped with crushed walnuts and filled with honey buttercream. Problem solved.

The recipe for the cookies was really intriguing as it involved making a very light and airy dough that had to be rolled into small balls and flattened before baking – I had thought sandwich cookies would have to be rolled and cut out into discs, but it appears not as the cookies baked into perfect circles. Another curious thing was that they had a crisp surface and yet remained quite soft and tender on the inside. I was initially disappointed by this when I tasted a little of the cookie on its own, but once assembled with the cream filling I think its actually better this way as it means you can take a bite easily without the cream oozing out the middle. I was also quite startled by how orange the cookies looked when I took them out the oven, curiously this lessened to become a golden brown colour as they cooled. I’m not sure why this happened, all I can think is that it’s something to do with a chemical reaction to the bicarbonate of soda in the mix. Anyone have any suggestions?

The flavour of the cookies was also very good. The honey and orange made it taste quite zesty and delicate. The walnuts of top became lightly toasted and provided a wonderful nutty flavour and a slight crunch. I feel they are quite an elegant little cookie and would be the ideal thing to serve your mum or grandmother with a cup of afternoon tea, but that’s not to say there weren’t equally enjoyed by the guys at work.

Honey & Orange Creams
(Recipe from The Cookie Book by Catherine Atkinson & Joanna Farrow)
Ingredients
250g self raising flour
2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g caster sugar
110g butter
Zest of 1 large orange
115g clear honey
25g walnuts

For the cream filling
50g butter
100g icing sugar
1 tbsp honey

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and set to one side.
Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl with sugar. Grate in the rind from the orange.
Add the butter and rub the ingredients together using the tips of your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Heat the honey until it’s runny and warm, but not hot. (Either in a saucepan or the microwave). Pour over the crumbs and stir with a spoon until it begins to form clumps and then use your fingers to bring it into a sticky dough.
Take small heaped teaspoonfuls of the dough and roll it between your hands to form balls the size of a large marble.
Place the cookie balls onto the baking tray and flatten slightly using your fingers. Leave a 2inch gap between each one to allow for spreading.
Finely chop the walnuts and press a few pieces into the top of half the cookies. Leave the other half plain.
Bake the cookies for 8 minutes until puffy and golden brown (or orange!)
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling wire. Repeat with any remaining cookie balls.
When cool, spread the honey cream over the base of one of the plain cookies and top with a cookie embedded with walnuts.
Makes 40 cookie discs or 20 sandwich cookies.

To make the cream filling
Beat the butter until smooth and soft. Gradually sift over the icing sugar and beat until well incorporated.
Stir through the honey and leave at room temperature until required.

Orange & Ginger Cocoa Cranberry Granola

After the success of my recent attempt at making granola, I was eager to try out other combinations. I wanted to try a cranberry and ginger combo and decided to add the zest from an orange too as I think it tastes great when paired with cranberries. I set about gathering my ingredients and as I opened the cupboard to get the ginger my eyes zoomed in on a jar of cocoa powder and I thought… hey why not? Orange and chocolate, cranberry and chocolate, ginger and chocolate = yummy. So in it went.

While it was baking, the granola filled my house with a wonderful yet slightly bizarre assortment of smells. The zesty orange and the cocoa were the main aromas, making the house smell like a Terry’s chocolate orange only with a hint of spicy ginger mixed in. Now this may be wonderful to those of you who like Terry’s chocolate oranges, but I myself am not much of a fan and so I began to worry that maybe I had been a little too adventurous with the flavour pairings. I do like chocolate and orange together, but only when it’s real orange otherwise I find it tastes a bit fake.

Another slight hitch was that due to the cocoa powder I couldn’t tell when the mixture was turning brown as everything was light brown to start with. I decided to stick to the set time and trust my nose for any smells of burning and it all worked out well.

When it had cooled I ate a spoonful and was initially disappointed at the slight bitter edge to it from the cocoa powder, but as I chewed the cranberries released their sweetness and the orange flavour really shone through complementing the bitter cocoa flavour and I was left with a tingling of ginger on my tongue. I had another mouthful, …hmmm I like it.

This is definitely not your usual flavour pairings of granola but I quite like how it contains some unexpected flavours, although I might not use quite as much ginger next time. If you are a fan of Terry’s chocolate oranges, this could well be the granola for you.

Orange & Ginger Cocoa Cranberry Granola
Ingredients
100g jumbo rolled oats
50g porridge oats
100g wheat flakes
25g linseeds
40g flaked almonds
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp natural oil
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
50g dried cranberries
50g raisins

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Place the oats, wheat flakes and linseeds in a large bowl.
Finely grate the zest from the orange and scatter over the oats along with the ground ginger and cocoa powder.
Mix the oil, water, orange juice and golden syrup together and pour over the oat mixture.
Use a spatula or large spoon and mix well, ensuring everything is lightly coated.
Scatter the mix onto the baking tray and place in the oven for 8-10 minutes until it’s starting to smell toasted and fragrant from the orange and ginger.
Remove from the oven and give everything a good mix to ensure even browning. Stir through the flaked almonds and return to the oven for a further 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and mix through the cranberries and raisins and leave to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Super Granola

I am a huge fan of granola, but have always relied on the occasional expensive box from the supermarket, whilst telling myself that next time I would have a shot at making my own. This weekend I decided it was time to give it a go.

The result is this super granola, for not only is it packed full of super ingredients but it also tastes super too. It was so quick and easy to make and tastes far superior to the boxed stuff, I don’t know what took me so long!

After researching lots of variations, I decided to base my granola on a recipe from What’s for lunch honey? I liked how there was not too much fat or sugar in the recipe, as I wanted it to be healthy and not leave me with a sugar rush for breakfast. I chose to use both jumbo rolled oats and porridge oats for the base and also threw in some crispy wheat flakes for added crunch and texture. After a cupboard rummage I also added linseeds, pumpkins seeds, brazil and hazelnuts. I scattered over some ground cinnamon as I think this goes well with almost anything and replaced the usual honey or sugar with a light vanilla syrup that I had leftover in the fridge.

It was then into the oven for a quick bake before scattering over some coconut and returning it to the oven to get nice and toasty. Once baked I adding some super berries in the form of dried blueberries, goji berries and dried pear, I just love how bright and attractive they make it look.The aroma from the cinnamon and toasted nuts and coconut wafted throughout the house and smelt amazing, so warm and comforting that I couldn’t wait for it to finish cooling down and ate a bowlful with just a splash of milk while it was still warm.

Everything was crisp with the oats and nuts providing a wonderfully nutty toasted taste. The cinnamon with a hint of vanilla mingled perfectly and developed as you chewed with the sweet chewy fruit coming in at the end. It was so scrummy that I kept eating handfuls every time I went into the kitchen. There’s no way I’m going back to boxed stuff, from now on it’s homemade all the way. I love how it can be adjusted so easily to suit your own tastes, don’t like nuts? Leave them out. Hate raisins? Replace them with chopped apricots. I can’t wait to try out other flavour combinations.

Super Granola

Ingredients

100g jumbo rolled oats
50g porridge oats
100g wheat flakes
25g linseeds
35g pumpkin seeds
35g brazil nuts
25g hazelnuts
2½ tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp natural oil
3 tbsp vanilla sugar syrup OR honey with 1tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp water
20g unsweetened flaked coconut
35g dried blueberries
30g goji berries
35g dried pear

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
In a large bowl weigh out the oats, wheat flakes and seeds.
Chop the brazil nuts into quarters and the hazelnuts in half and add to the oats along with the cinnamon.
Thin down the vanilla syrup or honey in the water, stir in the oil and then drizzle it over the oaty mixture.
Use a spatula or large spoon and mix well, ensuring everything is lightly coated.
Scatter the mix onto the baking tray and place in the oven for 8-10 minutes until it’s starting to smell toasted and the edges are turning brown.
Remove from the oven and give everything a good mix to ensure even browning. Stir through the coconut and return to the oven for 8 minutes more. Keep an eye on the granola now as coconut can burn quite easily.
Remove from the oven. Dice the pear into small pieces and stir through with the rest of the fruit and leave to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Munch and enjoy.

Mango & Lime Cake

Mango and lime is a flavour combination I have been wanting to transfer to a cake for a very long time. At first I couldn’t decide if I wanted lime or mango flavoured cake, then what sort of icing, whether or not it should have a filling etc. In the end I went for a fresh mango cake with lime icing. My next problem was making a cake batter that could handle the addition of a pureed mango without going sloppy. I was surprised to find that there are very few cake recipes that use more than just a few tablespoons of pureed mango in them. After reading many recipes I went with one from an Australian Women’s Weekly magazine that used peaches and adapted it to my needs.

I intended the icing to be an Italian buttercream but after adding the juice from two limes it went (unsurprisingly) sloppy and although it tasted lovely it was no good for icing. I added some double cream, as I know this naturally thickens in the presence of acid, and it became the perfect consistency for piping. I was actually really pleased with the icing as it was zesty and creamy, yet a lot lighter than if I had used just cream thanks to the airy meringue base. The cake itself was quite dense in texture but not heavy and stayed wonderfully moist from the mango puree. I think it’s important to ensure your mango is sweet and ripe before you use it as the flavour is quite delicate. I took it into work for the Monday Munchers where it received great feedback. One girl had three slices within about 4 hours and said it was her favourite to date.

Mango & Lime Cake
(Recipe adapted from Australian Women’s Weekly Magazine)
For the Cake
170g mango puree – flesh of 1 large mango
280g caster sugar
250g butter
4 eggs
275g self raising flour

For the Icing
1 egg white
85g caster sugar
Juice of 2 limes
Zest of 2 limes
165ml double cream

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease an 8inch/20cm deep round cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.
Prepare the mango by cutting off the ‘cheeks’ and then scoring the flesh in a square checked pattern down to the skin. Push the flesh up and cut the cubes of flesh from the skin.
Place the mango into a food processor or liquidiser and process until smooth. Then set to one side.
Cream and butter and sugar together until lift and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well between each one.
Stir in the mango puree and then scatter the flour over the surface of the batter. Fold the flour in using a large spoon or spatula until no clumps remain.
Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 1hour 25 minutes. (After the first 40 minutes, cover the cake with foil to prevent it from over browning and bake for a further 45 minutes.)
Remove from the oven and check if a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and placing on a wire wrack until cold.
Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Place the egg white and sugar into a large glass bowl suspended over a pan of gently simmering water.
Beat the egg white and sugar continuously for around 5-8 minutes until it becomes thick, white and doubled in volume.
Remove the bowl from the pan and slowly beat in the butter in small cubes. Then continue to whisk until cool.
Grate the rind off the two limes and set to one side. Then add the juice of both limes and half the zest to the icing. It will deflate slightly and go soft as this point but this is ok.
Pour in the double cream and whisk until thickened and at soft peak stage.
Pipe or spread the icing over the top of the cooled cake and scatter the remaining half of the lime zest over the top. Store in the fridge until required.
Serves 10-12

Celebrating Apple & Spice with Spiced Apple Cake

It’s my blogs first birthday and what better way to celebrate a year of Apple & Spice than with a Spiced Apple Cake!

I can’t believe its been a whole year since my first cautious steps into blogging. I can still remember the thrill of that first comment – learning that someone had actually read what I had written. My enjoyment of blogging has continued to grow and I have YOU, the readers and fellow bloggers to thank for that. You have given me great friendship, encouragement, valued feedback and welcomed me into a new culinary community. So thank you and if you feel like joining in the celebration you can bake an apple cake or simply eat an apple – I’ll be happy either way.

Spiced Apple Cake
This cake is fantastically moist as it uses 3 large apples in the batter, some pureed and some diced, resulting in little pockets of appley goodness. I used cooking apples which ensured a prominent apple flavour while the accompanying mix of sugar and spices kept it sweet and flavoursome. A scattering of chopped walnuts provided a nice contrast to the soft apple. The surface of the cake cracked slightly when baking but it turned out beautifully flat and golden brown.
Ingredients
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp nutmeg
120g butter
100g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Bramley apple
55g walnuts

For the apple puree
2 Bramley apples
150ml water
100g caster sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease an 8-9 inch spring form pan and line the base with greaseproof paper.
Start by preparing the apple puree. Peel and core the two cooking apples and dice into small chunks.
Place in a pan with the water and cook until softened and breaking down.
Mash the apple with a potato masher until you have a smoothish puree. Add the caster sugar and stir in well.
Allow to cook for 5 minute more and then remove from the heat and allow to cool while you prepare the cake batter.
For the cake, beat the butter and soft brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating them in well.
Peel and core and last cooking apple and either coarsely grate or finely dice it. Add to the egg mixture (don’t worry if it curdles) along with the cooled apple puree.
Scatter the flour, baking powder, bicarb and spices over the surface of the batter and fold into the mixture.
Chop the walnuts and stir though the apple batter. Give everything a quick beat to ensure its all incorporated and then pour it into the prepared tin.
Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before releasing from the tin and leaving to cool.
Serve warm or cold for afternoon tea. Ice cream, cream or custard turn it into a delicious dessert.